One Perfect Day
by Avalon3
Summary: When an accident sends Rose back in time to meet the Eighth Doctor, she is tempted to warn him about the Time War. Will she risk it?
1. Hello Stranger

Chapter One – Hello Stranger

At first there was only pain. Darkness. And more pain. But then light began to replace the shadows, and the pain started to fade. Slowly. Very, very slowly.

Rose hit the floor hard, and lay there for a long moment, waiting for the agony to recede. Everything hurt, even her eyelashes, and her vision kept blurring. But at least she was still in the TARDIS. Wasn't she? It didn't look quite right, somehow. Rose struggled up and leaned on the console, gasping, then looked around her. Yes, the TARDIS _was_ different. The coral-like growths were gone, and even the console shaped differently. It all looked less techno-organic, and more…Jules Verne somehow. Rose blinked. What in the name of Raxocoricofalipatorius had just happened?

"Doctor?" Her voice sounded a little wavery. Rose cleared her throat and tried again. "Doctor?"

Footsteps sounded behind her. She turned…and froze. A man stood in the doorway, holding a cup of tea in one hand and a biscuit in the other. He was about the same height as the Doctor, but with a longer nose, and dark wavy hair that reached almost to his shoulders. As for his clothes - he looked like he had stepped out of an Edwardian play. _Attractive_, some distant part of her noted. But not the Doctor.

"Who are you?" They both spoke at once.

"How did you get in my TARDIS?" The man took a step toward her and Rose tensed.

"Your TARDIS? This isn't your TARDIS. It's the Doctor's. How did _you_ get here and what have you done with him?"

The stranger gaped at her. "I _am_ the Doctor."

"You can't be. That's…" Rose's voice trailed off as a sudden thought struck her. She took a tentative step toward him. "Oh god, you didn't regenerate again, did you?"

The man frowned, looking perplexed and more than a little exasperated. "Look, how about if we start with names. I'm the Doctor, and you are…"

"If you're really the Doctor then you know who I am." This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not so soon. He had only just changed recently, and now… Another one of his lives gone, just like that?

The man put the teacup down and pocketed his biscuit. _You'll get crumbs_, she thought randomly.

"I assure you we have never met," he told her firmly.

"But I'm Rose. Rose Tyler." Had he forgotten her? "Are…are you really the Doctor?"

"I promise you I am."

"Then prove it. Where did we meet?"

The man ran one hand through his hair. "I have no idea. I don't know you, and I don't know how you got into my TARDIS."

Well, that was easy enough. Rose reached inside her blouse and pulled out the TARDIS key hanging on a chain around her neck. It glowed softly in her hands.

The man's demeanour changed instantly. "Good heavens." He crossed to her side in three steps, before she could even think about retreating, and reached for the key, then snatched his fingers back before he could touch it. He turned his head slightly to meet her eyes – and in that moment she knew. Just as she had known when the newly changed Doctor took her hand and reminded her how they met…she knew.

"Doctor?" Rose whispered.

Her knees buckled. He caught her before she could hit the floor, and steered her to a chair in the corner. Rose collapsed into it, staring up at him. "How? What happened? I mean…you were fine. You were perfectly fine. You were just gone for a minute and now this… I don't want you to keep changing," she added plaintively.

The man – the Doctor – kneeled in front of her. "I think, perhaps… May I see that key again?"

Rose held it up, still on its chain about her neck. The Doctor touched one fingertip to it gingerly, then pulled his hand away, as if it had burnt. It didn't feel hot to Rose.

"Yes, I see. Well, that explains it." He sat back on his heels and gave her a wide grin. _Yes, definitely the Doctor._ "You're from my future."

"'Scuse me?"

"My future timeline. I haven't met you yet, Rose Tyler."

Rose took a few moments to let that sink it. It did make a strange sort of sense. "So when the Autons came to…"

"Stop right there."

"What?"

"You mustn't tell me anything about my future."

Rose shook her head slightly, as if to clear it. "Why not? You're a Time Lord."

"Yes, and there are very strict rules about this sort of thing. I'm not allowed to know my own future."

"You never cared much about rules before," she muttered.

The Doctor smiled again. He really was _very_ attractive in this body. Were all his incarnations drop-dead gorgeous? "True, he said, "and I can't deny that I might have bent that rule once or twice, but this really is dangerous."

"Because of the Reapers, do you mean?"

He looked startled. "How do you know about them? Whatever could they have been thinking of on Gallifrey to let…?" He shook his head. "No, never mind. I don't want to know. Well, I do, but you're not going to tell me, right?"

"Right," she said meekly. "But…"

"But what?"

"But how did I get here? And how do I get back? To _my_ Doctor, I mean?"

"That, Rose Tyler, is a very good question."


	2. Who's Taking You Home Tonight?

Chapter Two – Who's Taking You Home Tonight?

Apparently it was proximity to a temporal distortion, mixed up with something called a quantum shoelace – _surely he was kidding? -_ along with some kind of feedback loop in the TARDIS, that had caused Rose to jump a time track. Rose wasn't really sure about the details. She hadn't been paying attention to the Doctor's rapid explanation, which had been given as he raced around the console, inputting figures, moving levers, and giving it the occasional kick – _same as ever. _Instead, she had been mulling over what he had said.

_Whatever could they have been thinking on Gallifrey…? _Meaning he expected Gallifrey to have dealt with the Reapers. Meaning as of now, the Time Lords were still alive. Therefore the Time War hadn't happened yet. So, the big question was - should she tell him? A vision of the Reapers, devouring everything – and _everyone_ - rose up before her, and she shuddered. No. She couldn't risk it. She wouldn't repeat her mistakes. Couldn't. But maybe… If he knew what was to come, then maybe…

"There!" The Doctor's exclamation interrupted her musings. "I've done it." He looked at her, waiting for her approval, and an odd sense of déjà vu went through her. _Same old Doctor. _Or rather, her Doctor – Doctors – were the same as this one. Or they were all the same as each other? This could get rather confusing.

"Done what?" Rose asked.

"I've found a way to send you home. It was just a matter of hooking up the vortex differential converter to a really powerful supply of neutrons, like a nice hot…"

"Really don't need the technobabble, Doctor."

He gave her an offended look. "Technobabble? Technobabble? Hmmph. I'm inclined to _not_ take you with me whenever we happen to meet, if that's the way you feel."

"Doctor…"

"Fine, fine. All right, in _simple _terms, I can get you back where you belong."

"Great!" Rose looked at him expectantly.

"In 27.6 hours."

"Oh."

"Well, it's not like it's easy. I've had to be exceedingly clever, even for me. And it's going to take a lot of power – hence the wait, while the TARDIS recharges."

He looked so forlorn that Rose had to resist the impulse to pat him on the shoulder. "I'm not complaining. I'm glad you can get me back. And I don't mind waiting. Honest."

He smiled at her, and for a moment it felt just like old times. Well, new times. Whatever.

"So - what shall we do while we wait?"

She frowned. "You mean…we can go somewhere? We don't have to stay in the TARDIS?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"But what about the timeline? Won't my being here – with you – cause, well, problems?"

He gave her a look that she recognized. Pure mischief with just a hint of recklessness. _Pure Doctor. _"Oh, I think Time can handle it if you can."

A slow smile began to appear on Rose's face. "I get to choose? Anywhere?"

"Anywhere in time and space."

"Right then. I choose Gallifrey."

He tried to talk her out of it. _There's loads more interesting places, _he told her. _You really don't want to go to Gallifrey. _

_I really do_, she had replied.

In the end, she won. It seemed this Doctor was just as prone to giving in to her wishes as her own Doctor was. He surrendered with ill grace, but surrender he did. And so, a short time later, Rose stepped out of the TARDIS onto a planet which, some time in the future, would vanish, a planet that would become a legend throughout the galaxy, spoken of only in hushed and reverent tones.

_Gallifrey_.


	3. The Green Green Grass of Home

Chapter Three – The Green, Green Grass of Home

The grass wasn't green. It was a silvery blue shade, and the skies were orange. But Rose had seen much odder sights in her travels with the Doctor. As long as the grass didn't try to eat her – like on Arcturus Prime_ – _and the skies didn't rain acid – the moons of Celios, for instance_ – _it didn't faze her. What did faze her was being _here. _ On Gallifrey. With the Doctor. She cast him a sideways look. He was walking glumly along beside her, kicking occasionally at the blue grass.

_I can't tell you about the Time War, I can't change what's going to happen,_ Rose thought, _but I can give you this day. _One day to remember, when all this is gone. On impulse she bent and plucked a handful of the grass, and put it in her handbag. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, but did not otherwise comment. He came to a stop at the edge of the trees, stared at the city in the distance, then looked at her.

"All right. We're here. Can we go?"

"No."

He sighed. "Fine. Where to then?"

"Everywhere."

"Rose, it's a big planet."

Rose looped one arm through his, and gave him her most winning smile. "And it's your home. You're the expert here. Take me to all your favourite places."

"It's Gallifrey. I don't have any favourite places."

"You must do. And people. I bet there's tons of people you'd like to visit."

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why so eager to see my home?"

_Oops. Overplayed that hand._ She would have to tread carefully. Rose withdrew her arm and shoved her hands deep in the pockets of her jeans. "It's just that my Doctor – you – never brought me here." That was true enough. "And I thought maybe…"

"I'd be easier to convince?"

"Um…something like that." A pause, then… "C'mon, Doctor. It'll be fun! I bet you've never played tourist on your own planet. And I bet there really are people you'd like to see. Besides, I'd like to meet some other Time Lords."

"I can't think why. Most of them are boring, backward, conservative, and just plain annoying, pretty much all of the time."

"So let's find the ones who aren't." Rose gave him another hopeful smile. "Honestly, they can't all be that bad. You're a Time Lord, and you're relatively interesting."

"There's an exception to every rule."

"We don't have to see anyone you don't like, or go anywhere that you don't want to, but I really, really, really want to see Gallifrey. Please, Doctor? Pretty please!"

She knew he was going to give in, even before he did it. Some things never changed.

"Well, I suppose I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of old friends from university. And there are one or two books I've been meaning to get from the library…"

Rose's smile was real this time. Automatically she reached out and took his hand. "Great. And maybe we can manage something more exciting than just the library…"

Bemused, the Doctor allowed her to pull him in the direction of the city.

The morning and afternoon went better than Rose had expected, even though she felt she was walking on a tightrope the entire time. She had had to bite her tongue frequently, to avoid saying something she shouldn't. She wasn't sure how successful she was. The Doctor kept giving her odd looks, but good-naturedly went along her suggestions.

They went to a market where Rose maxed out the credit stick he had given her on trinkets and keepsakes, anything small enough to carry in her oversized handbag, which was growing heavier with every passing moment, the strap digging into her shoulder. The Doctor probably thought her a hopeless souvenir hound, but Rose didn't care. She had a plan. Other things went into the bag whenever she thought he wasn't looking; a small golden rock with a topaz stripe down one side; a purple flower that she shoved between the pages of a tiny guidebook she had bought; even the empty food container from her lunch. But as her handbag grew heavier, so did her heart. It was so little. There was so little she could save. One handbag's worth. Soon all this would be gone, and all that would remain were a few insignificant bits and pieces…and one unhappy Time Lord.

_I would save this for you if I could,_ she thought, watching him animatedly argue with an old colleague he had met in the street. One warning is all it would take. And yet, what if that made things worse? The Daleks might win the Time War. Or the Doctor might die. Really die, forever and always. He had never told her all the details about what happened. Rose didn't know enough about the war, didn't know what would be safe to tell him and what wouldn't. And so she said nothing, merely continued to stuff fragments of a lost world into her handbag…and to hold her tongue.

The Doctor gave the man he was talking to a cheery wave then strode over to Rose, a bounce in his step.

"All right, I admit it."

"Admit what?"

"You were right. This has been fun. I haven't been to the market in…well, centuries, I suppose."

Rose shifted the bag to her other shoulder and linked her arm through his. "This is me," she said, "carefully refraining from saying 'I told you so'…"

"No, I'm fairly sure I can detect an 'I told you so' in your voice…"

It was the crystals that did it. Rose and the Doctor had stopped at a booth at the far end of the market, Rose peering at a row of pale green crystals, each about the length of her little finger. She was reaching out to touch the nearest when the Doctor appeared just behind her.

"Careful," he whispered in her ear.

Rose turned her head and suppressed a shiver as her eyes met his. Damn, but the man was good looking. She really couldn't decide which one of him she found more appealing.

"What?" she asked, dragging her eyes away, and hoping he hadn't read too much in them.

He nodded over her shoulder toward the booth. "They're pretty sturdy, but you wouldn't want to drop one."

Rose looked back at the crystals. "Why? What are they?"

"Archives."

"Sorry?"

"Data crystals. The ultimate version of books, I suppose you'd say."

Rose's gaze sharpened. "Books? What sort of books?"

The Doctor reached around her, and picked one up, turning it in his hand. The sunlight glinted on its faceted surface. "All sorts. History. Philosophy. Science. This one is literature. All the Gallifreyan works ever written. Poetry, folktales, so forth."

Rose swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. "All of it? On one little crystal? How much does it cost?"

The Doctor glanced at the seller, who named a price that meant nothing to Rose. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

The Doctor smiled and put the crystal back. "More than either of us can afford. Come on, there's plenty more to see."

No. She wanted that crystal. _Needed_ it. All the literature ever written on this world? She knew how much the Doctor loved his books. To be able to save that from what was to come… That would be worth any risk, better than all the useless things she had managed to collect so far. She _had _to have it. Rose hurried after the Doctor, who was striding through the marketplace, and tugged the sleeve of his velvet frockcoat.

"What about your slightly psychic paper?" she hissed at him.

He stopped and frowned. "My what?"

"Slightly psychic paper. Makes people see what you want them to see. You could use it to buy that crystal…"

"Well A, that would be stealing, and B, I don't have any psychic paper. Although that is rather a good idea, now you mention it. I shall have to keep an eye out for some…"

Oops. Rose darted a glance upward, half expecting Reapers to come screaming out of orange skies. When nothing happened, she breathed a sigh of relief. OK, she'd changed history, but just a tiny bit. And who's to say he wouldn't have thought of psychic paper on his own? Still… _I really need to be more careful,_ Rose thought nervously. In the meantime, there was still the question of the crystal. If she couldn't buy it – well, she would just have to steal it.

And that was precisely what she did.


	4. Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me

Chapter Four – Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me

The Doctor and Rose came to a breathless halt and leaned against the alley wall, gasping, Rose clutching her side.

"What was that all about?" There was an accusing tone to the Doctor's voice.

"All what?"

"All those people chasing us, that man yelling 'stop thief', the canopy over his booth going up in flames…"

"Just because I _happened _to drop a lit match, and just because the canopy _happened _to catch fire, doesn't mean…"

"And then you just _happened_ to grab my arm and yell 'run for it'…"

Rose straightened and punched his shoulder playfully. "C'mon, Doctor. It's not a proper outing for us unless we're running for our lives at some point. I mean, I have to keep up the tradition, right?"

"We don't _have_ a tradition. I haven't even met you yet, remember?" But he was smiling through the frown, as if he couldn't manage to be angry with her for very long. Rose laughed, feeling suddenly and completely happy.

"So where is it?" The Doctor was still trying to look severe, but he wasn't succeeding.

"What?"

"The data crystal. The one you stole."

"Borrowed."

"Whatever. Where is it? Because we really should return it…"

Rose gave him a cheeky grin. "It's down my front."

"Er…what?"

"Down my front. In my bra."

The Doctor swallowed, but manfully kept his gaze from dipping any lower. "Ah, right. Well…hand it over."

She shook her head. "No. So unless you plan to fish it out yourself…"

He looked faintly alarmed at the suggestion, and hastily put both hands behind his back.

"Didn't think so," Rose said. Her grin faded abruptly, and she bit her lip. "Look Doctor, I know you don't know me from Adam – hmm, funny story there actually… Anyway, for all you know I could be some insane fire-starting kleptomaniac you've been dragging around the universe. Or will. But…" Her gaze lowered as she marshalled her thoughts. "But I do have a good reason. I can't tell you what it is because I don't want to screw up Time. Been there, done that, got the residual trauma. Just know that I…I really need to keep this crystal. Just for a while."

"You promise?" he asked.

"Promise what?"

"That you're not an insane fire-starting kleptomaniac?"

Rose's smile returned. "Cross my heart and hope to die." She made a cross over her chest, and this time he did look, but then his gaze went back to hers.

"All right," he said softly. "I believe you Rose Tyler." He gave her a rueful grin. "I just hope you realize I'll never be able to show my face here again." He shook his head, then turned and walked deeper into the alley.

Tears pricked her eyes as she followed him. _No, you never will._

Rose was tired, thirsty, and her feet ached, but none of that seemed important. What mattered was that she was sitting beside the Doctor on a hill outside the city, watching the orange sky turn pink and gold. What did sore feet matter when she was watching the sunset on _Gallifrey_?

They had spent the rest of the afternoon hiding out in a library – vast, echoing, and slightly dull – had grabbed a quick meal afterwards – bland yet filling – and had visited some old school friends of the Doctor's. Or rather, the Doctor had met with them while Rose had wandered through a nearby park. Several more flowers and a couple of weeds had vanished inside her bag.

Rose cast the Doctor a sideways look. He was sitting on the slope of the hill, his arms resting on his knees, staring unblinkingly into the distance. He had been quiet ever since meeting his friends. Uncharacteristically so. Or maybe this version of the Doctor was prone to long, gloomy silences. Rose leaned over and bumped his shoulder with hers. He started, then looked at her.

"Penny for them?"

"If you have a penny left after all the shopping you've done, I'd be very surprised."

"I'll have to owe you." Rose paused, then asked: "Didn't your visit go well?"

"It was fine."

"But?"

The Doctor looked at her. "But the news wasn't exactly good."

"Oh?" A pang went through her. She hadn't brought him here to cause him sorrow.

"There are factions on the move in the universe, apparently. Elements aligning. _Undercurrents_. My people are…nervous, I suppose you would say. It takes a lot to make them nervous."

Rose looked away. Was it so near then? She gazed at the city before her, painted gold by the dying sun. How much time did Gallifrey have left? And, if the Time War was that close…

"Doctor, which one are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean which one? How many of you have there been?"

"Ah. Eight. I'm the eighth me."

Eight. That was one before nine. Two before ten. Rose turned her head and met the gaze of the man who would very shortly be forced to destroy his home and his people, in order to save the universe.

"You know what this reminds me of?" His voice was quiet.

"What?"

"Late summer, 1939. I was in England that August. Somerset, I think. I remember sitting on a hillside much like this, and I remember the same feeling. The knowledge that something was coming. Something bad."

"The calm before the storm," Rose whispered.

He nodded. "You know what's going to happen, don't you?"

She swallowed. "Not all of it. Not the details. I…I wish I could tell you. I want to."

"But?"

"But I'm afraid of making it worse. Afraid what might happen if…"

He looked away. The last rays of the sun were vanishing behind the horizon, and suddenly she could bear it no longer. She had to tell him.

"Doctor…"

"No, Rose. You're right not to tell me. It's better I don't know. Besides, I already know from meeting you that I'll survive whatever's coming. That's the important thing, right?" His tone was lighter now, as if he were trying to cheer himself up, as well as her. Rose could feel her heart breaking inside her.

"Doctor…"

"Shh." Tentatively, he put his arm around her shoulders. When she didn't object, he pulled her a little closer toward him. Trying desperately not to cry, Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. Together, they watched the sun disappear in silence.


	5. Time to Say Goodbye

Chapter Five – Time to Say Goodbye

The last of the sunlight had vanished, replaced by stars that glittered in the velvet sky. _Alien_ _stars_, Rose thought sleepily, staring up at them as she leaned against the Doctor. She had never gotten used to that, despite all her travels, never stopped feeling that first shock when she looked up to see different constellations. And so she asked what she always asked.

"Show me Earth?" He always tried. Sometimes he could show her humanity's sun itself; sometimes he couldn't. Sometimes he could only point in the right direction, the distances between worlds too great. But he always tried. And so he did this time. This new/old Doctor tilted his head, looked for a long moment, then pointed.

"There. That way."

Rose looked, but couldn't make out her own little star. It was too far away, lost in an alien sky. But she nodded, and murmured a thank you, as always.

"We should go back to the TARDIS so you can get some sleep," the Doctor suggested.

Rose shook her head. No. She only had 10 hours left. She wasn't going to waste any of it sleeping. With an effort, she straightened, briefly regretting the loss of his arm around her, then shook her head to clear it, sucking in a deep breath of cool air.

"Not yet," she said. "You haven't shown me the Gallifreyan night-life yet."

"Gallifrey doesn't _have_ a night-life. Besides, you're dropping."

Rose climbed to her feet. "No I'm not. I just needed a rest. I'm good to go now."

"Rose…"

"I can sleep when I get back, ok? In the meantime, night-life?"

He gave her an exasperated look, then got to his own feet, brushing the grass off his trousers. "Humans. Well, don't blame me if you fall on your face from exhaustion."

Rose spoke without thinking as she set off down the hill. "But you'll always there to catch me, right?" She didn't see the startled look on his face, and didn't hear his quiet response.

"It seems so, Rose Tyler."

Gallifrey _did _have a night-life after all, but it seemed to consist of bedecked and be-robed students telling slightly off-colour jokes about the time-space continuum and something called chronovores, while drinking what tasted like extremely weak beer. If this was as exciting as Gallifrey got, it was no wonder the Doctor had high-tailed it the first chance he got. Rose had seen more exciting parties at seniors' homes. Even the Doctor looked bored. It wasn't until she suggested taking one of the local boats onto the small lake, which bordered the city, that things improved.

"You're a bad influence, Rose Tyler," the Doctor complained, as he rowed across the calm water.

"It wasn't stealing. It was borrowing."

"You seem to have a very loose understanding of the word 'borrow'."

"Oh stop worrying. We'll have the boat back long before anyone misses it. In the meantime, give me those oars. Rowing will wake me up."

"You could be back in the TARDIS, warm, safe, and asleep."

"Sleep is over-rated. So is safe."

"And warm?"

"Hmm."

They returned to the TARDIS shortly before dawn. The Doctor had only been able to talk her out of the notion of breaking into and climbing the white tower at the center of the capitol, with the reminder that the TARDIS would have gathered enough energy by now to send her back. That, and the fact that she was practically reeling from exhaustion. Her energy levels were completed depleted. But it was worth a night of lost sleep. The Doctor had laughed with her, shared stories from his days at the university, and generally seemed to be having a good time. Rose only hoped it would be enough. Or had she made things worse? Would these good memories make it harder for him to destroy Gallifrey, when the time came? Had she inadvertently caused him even more pain?

She stumbled, and the Doctor's hand went around her elbow, straightening her path. He was carrying her bag, complaining at the weight periodically. Rose concentrated on keeping her feet, and trying not to worry. She was only partially successful.

The Doctor ushered her into the TARDIS. Rose tripped over the threshold. Everything seemed to be suffused with a faint golden glow, power pulsing through the console room, and suddenly she felt alert and aware again, her tiredness falling away like a discarded cloak. A sense of familiarity shot through her then skittered back into the recesses of her mind. Rose shook her head to clear it and reached for her bag.

The Doctor held it out, but didn't let go, even when she tugged at it. "It won't work," he told her.

"What won't?"

"This." He released the handbag and she gathered it in her arms. "You can't take it back with you. You can't take anything that didn't come with you."

"Oh. Right. OK. 'Scuse me for a sec." With that, Rose turned and bolted out of the console room, heading deeper into the TARDIS.

When she returned, the Doctor was perched on the edge of the console, looking amused. "So where did you put it?" He indicated her empty arms.

"Somewhere you'll never find it."

"I doubt that."

"Don't try. Please."

He tilted his head. "All right. If it means so much to you."

"It does. You…you'll know why later."

"If you say so." He turned away, moving to the console. He made some adjustments then faced her again. "It's ready. Are you?"

Rose's throat tightened. So soon? Of course she missed her own Doctor and wanted to get back to him, but she was only just getting used to this one. She would have liked to have more time with him. Only time was running out. She had to go back, and he had a Time War to win.

"Thank you, Doctor."

He gave her a slight smile. "Thank you, Rose Tyler. I'm glad I'm going to meet you."

"Me too."

For a moment they stood still, and then he put one hand on the lever. "Well…"

"No, wait." Rose's vision blurred and she rushed toward him. "Doctor, I have to tell you…"

"Rose, no! We talked about this. You can't."

"I know. I know." Her voice caught on a sob. "But you have to know this one thing." She hurried on when it looked as though he would interrupt her. "I swear it won't harm the timeline. I _swear_." The Doctor looked doubtful, but kept his silence. Rose took a deep breath, then spoke:

"You were right. Something bad is coming. But you need to remember - no matter how bad it gets, things _do_ get better eventually. In time. There will…one day you'll have laughter again, and friendship, and fun, and people who care about you, and all the things worth living for. And you'll have me." Tears were pouring down Rose's face now, but she made no effort to wipe them away. "Just remember that I'm out there somewhere, waiting for you on the other side of time. You have to get through this, because… because I need you to." Her voice cracked. And then, because she didn't know what else to do, she reached up and kissed him.

It was pain, and love, and need, and despair, all mixed up together. It was the need to see her own Doctor again, and the sorrow for what lay ahead for this one. The kiss tasted salty from her tears, and she couldn't seem to breathe very well, but she didn't care. And then, right at the end, she even thought he kissed her back.

At last Rose pulled away and took a step back. For a moment she thought he might say something, but he didn't. Instead, he reached out for the lever, his gaze never once leaving hers.

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler," she thought she heard him say…and then Time reached out, seized her by the scruff of the neck, and dragged her backwards into the vortex.


	6. Time in a Bottle

Chapter Six – Time in a Bottle

It hurt. It hurt even more than the first time, or maybe it was the pain of leaving the Doctor behind, but this time Rose was convinced she was dying…until at last the agony lessened and she decided she wasn't. She stumbled, started to fall, braced herself for the impact – but it never came. Somebody caught her, strong arms going around her and easing her to the ground. Rose blinked several times, her vision cleared – and her eyes met the brown ones of the Doctor. _Her_ Doctor.

He had done it. She was back where – _when_ – she belonged.

"Told you I'd always catch you," he told her, smiling that familiar smile. They were both sitting on the TARDIS floor, she realized distantly, his arms still around her.

"Doctor?"

"The one and only…well, not really. As you know."

Rose shook her head, trying to clear it, but the world still seemed to be rotating in several directions at once.

"Just wait a bit," he told her. "It'll take a few minutes for the effects to wear off. You've had quite the journey, Rose Tyler."

No kidding. Rose closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. "That was weird," she murmured.

"What was?"

"Meeting you. The previous…_previous_ you."

"It happens. One of the dangers of time travel."

A thought struck her and she opened her eyes. "So you remember meeting me then?"

The Doctor nodded. "You're not exactly easy to forget, Rose Tyler."

She frowned. "But you didn't exactly seem happy to see me when we first met. On Earth, I mean. The previous you. You certainly gave an Oscar winning performance of pretending not to know me, in fact."

He shifted, not meeting her eyes. "Oh. Well. Actually, at that point, I didn't really remember you."

"So I am easy to forget, after all?"

"I'd just destroyed both my home world and the Daleks, then died, and just barely regenerated," he said flatly. "Frankly, I'm surprised I remembered my own name."

Oh. Pain tightened in her chest. "I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.

The Doctor looked back at her and the grim expression on his face vanished. His arms tightened around her. "Don't be. You saved my life, Rose."

"I did?"

"You did. After I…did what I had to do…" Rose suppressed a shiver. The Doctor swallowed once, before continuing. "I was badly hurt. Dying. I didn't expect to regenerate. Didn't want to. I just wanted it all to be over, wanted to die along with my world. But as I lay there, I remembered one word. Just one. Do you know what that word was?"

She shook her head.

"Rose. That's all. Just Rose."

Tears blurred her eyes. Gently, the Doctor brushed them away. "Everything was a jumble after that. I honestly didn't remember you when we met in London. It wasn't until the very end, right after the Autons were destroyed, after you had saved me – again, that it all began to come back to me."

"And that's why you asked me to go with you? Because you already knew I would?" she whispered.

"I asked you because I wanted you to come with me. I asked you the second time because I knew you would."

"And…and you remember everything now?"

"Up to and including that kiss. Which was slightly soggy, by the way."

Rose burst out in a half-laugh, half-sob, her anguish beginning to recede – which is probably what he had intended, she decided, watching him grin at her. "I can do better," she told him.

"I'm fairly sure you can." The sudden intensity in his eyes made Rose gulp. For a moment time seemed to freeze, and she was vividly aware that she was leaning against his chest, both of his arms holding her and his mouth mere inches from hers…and then she remembered something else, and she pulled back.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I wonder…" With that, Rose pulled out of the Doctor's arms, hauled herself to her feet, wobbled briefly, then staggered out of the console room.

"Rose!" the Doctor called after her.

"My handbag," she shouted back over her shoulder.

It was right where she had left it. Rose knelt before an antique chest of drawers, reached in the bottom drawer beneath a pile of frilly Victorian ladies' under-things, and pulled out her handbag. This wardrobe had been the only place she could think of that the Doctor would have no reason to use. She blew a thick layer of dust off the handbag then, holding her breath, opened it…and exhaled with relief. It was all there, including the data crystal.

"I didn't bother to look for it." A voice said behind her.

Rose sat back on her heels and looked up at him. "Why not?"

"Because you asked me not to." He came into the room and sat beside her.

"Here." Rose held the bag out to him. The Doctor gave her a questioning look. "It was for you. I thought…I thought I might not be able to save Gallifrey, but maybe I could save just a little bit of it. For you."

Slowly the Doctor took the bag and opened it. Rose watched, as one by one, he set the items she had collected on the floor in front of them. The gold stone, the purple flower, dry and brittle now, even the empty food container. The Doctor's hands were shaking, she noticed, just a little. And then the green crystal… He held it up so that it caught the light.

"The complete works of Gallifrey. Everything ever written by my people," he said reverently. "I had forgotten about this…"

"Can't think why," Rose said, trying to lighten the mood. "What with the fire, and the thieving, and all that running…"

"Rose." The look on his face froze her tongue. "Rose, you…" He had to swallow twice before he could go on, and his eyes glinted with…were those tears? "You don't know how much this means to me."

She gave him a watery smile. "Just…just consider it a delayed birthday present or something. What to get for the Time Lord who has everything…"

"It's perfect. Not this," he said when her eyes darted to the data crystal. "Better than that. You gave me time. One perfect day." And then he bent forward and kissed her.

THE END


End file.
